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Librarian
Librarians are huge, quasi-intelligent creatures so named by the metro-dwellers due to their habitat - the Moscow State Library. Only encountered in a select section of the book and later in the games, they are some of the most powerful and frightening enemies Artyom will have to face in Metro 2033 - and serve as the climax enemy for the Stalker in Metro: Last Light's level: Kshatriya. Fortunately, only a few of them are encountered, and only in the library. They also appear in Metro Last Light's Tower Pack in the final simulation area where 3 are fought separately. From ingame evidance, it is also fair to say that aside from the dark ones and humans, librarians are some the most intelligiant post war creatures. Overview In both canons, librarians are much less deformed than other mutants of the Metro, resembling ordinary gorillas in both posture and overall physical appearance, though they are much larger and have longer and thinner arms. In the game however, they have a fearsome visage, as their faces, somewhat humanoid, have one lip that covers their shark-like teeth and snout. This is caused from the nose and upper lip of their human progenitors fusing over successive generations. They are very territorial and will confront anything that appears to be a threat. They show signs of aggression by roaring and raising their upper lip, showing their teeth as a deterrent like most modern primates do. They are so powerful and territorial that they will even fight a demon if it enters the Library. Notorious for being some of the most dangerous monsters that inhabit the wastes of Moscow, librarians are very difficult enemies, resilient enough to withstand many point-blank shots even from powerful weapons like the Duplet, and whose attacks can kill Artyom and the Stalker of Kshatriya with a few vicious sweeps. They are quite agile and capable of high jumps despite their size, and most importantly they have enormous physical strength, at least on par with the demons, and more than enough to tear apart a human being with their elongated fingers. They are one of the most intelligent mutants found in the area. They also appear to be omnivorous as they have cultivated large amounts of plants in several areas. Intelligance Librarians have a low amount of intelligance. They can be compared to a gorrillas mind. However aside from human and the dark ones, the are the most intelligent creatures alive. That have a unique abillity for being mutated animals. They can memorize small peices of literature, place traps, and even semi communicate in the form of creating a temporary nuetrality by starring a human in the eye. Aside from this, the librarians intelligance is still very mysterious. Metro 2033 Common Librarian Common librarians are covered in gray-blue skin and are found all throughout the Library, mainly occupying the top floors. These librarians are more passive and less dangerous than black librarians. They will curiously but also aggressively confront anything that comes within range of them, if they feel there is no threat, they will back down and walk away. Artyom can prove that he is no threat by standing his ground and staring it down until it walks away. However, if Artyom turns his back on one, it will take its chance to attack. Librarians can also use their territorial display to get within striking range of Artyom; they will not hesitate to attack if that happens. A librarian can still be stared down if it becomes hostile - though this is uncommon. If Artyom attacks one, however, they will not relent until either Artyom or the librarian in question is dead. Black Librarian In the archives under the library lurks a variant of librarian notable for its thicker fur and darker skin, whose head is also deformed and has tumorous bulges, lacking the large lip of its cousin, and is much more aggressive than its grayish relatives. Fortunately, they are often found sleeping in nests of torn-up books and can be stealthily avoided. They are more territorial than the common ones but can still be avoided, even if awoken. After being stared down, or having lost interest, they will retreat, but unlike common librarians can return very shortly, frequently hostile. This gives the player only a narrow window of opportunity to escape, or to reload and find a better vantage point. Metro Last Light Librarians are not encountered in the standard Metro: Last Light campaign, but make an appearance in Metro Last Light's The Faction Pack DLC that was released in July 16th. They are encountered after passing through a heavily irradiated area with a single Demon, in the first area where Artyom first directly encountered them in Metro 2033. The librarians of Metro Last Light's Faction Pack partially differ in physical stature to their 2033 counterparts. While before the librarian held similarities to that of a massive gorilla, never before has the comparison been more accurate. Last Light librarians are thicker in size, in particular to the arm and torso, and, keeping in step with the nuclear spring are slightly browner in coloration. They also display the distinctly gorilla-like behaviour of beating their chests as a sign of aggression toward the Stalker. Gameplay wise, librarians appear to have undergone moderate changes - mostly to make them more managable "glass-cannon" sort of foes when the player's equipment is minimal. Staring down a librarian, once a tactic that required some skill and patience, is now a far more automatic feature of the seemingly less-agressive librarians. This is exemplified in that librarians now have a tendancy to flee mid-combat, only to return moments later in varying levels of hostility. This can sometimes lead to moments in which they are able to be stared down, even after taking considerable damage. To further make them easier enemies, librarians can not only be completely bypassed by sneaking, but do not hold up tremendously well under fire. Direct hits to the librarian's skull have a low, but very notable chance of stumbling the creatures, and, though they still retain a considerable level of health, have been recorded as taking as little as three shots from a Shambler on Ranger Hardcore to be killed, on the other hand it can take as many as twenty shots to kill one on Normal mode with the same weapon. Perhaps to counter this, the librarians of the Faction Pack have tremendous damage output, rivaling if not surpassing those of 2033. Even if armored, a good hit or two is enough to flat-out kill a player on the Ranger difficulties. In the Tower Pack that was released on September 3rd, they can be fought in the final simulation area. Here, the player goes against 3 but separately. It is highly recommended they should be fought with spawned teammates and using the placed mini-gun. But be careful as numerous nosalises' attempt to swarm you while you fight against the librarians. Tactics Staring Down All librarians in Metro 2033 and Last Light have been tested, and can all be stared down with enough practice, skill, and luck. The player can have Artyom or the Stalker avoid all by following Miller's advice and staring them down; stare into one's eyes long enough and it will back down and retreat for a short period. Though the player will usually have the most trouble staring down a Libarian in 2033, the same basic rules apply for Metro Last Light. General eye-contact is key when dealing with a librarian. The player should be standing and facing directly at the target to achieve the best effect. Librarians are not set off by the readying, aiming, or holstering of a weapon, nor by the raising of a watch in Metro 2033 - which can all be used to better help align Artyom's view to the head of the target. When engaging a librarian of any variety, the approach is vital - it's best that Artyom start the encounter at a safe distance and on the terms of the player. Advanced players of Metro 2033 will find situations easier to predict and control, and thus, easier to manage when they are intentionally walking down certain corridors with viewpoints ready for an oncoming librarian, or intentionally stepping on glass or bone while turned to a single librarian. Proximity is also key when handling a librarian. The player's avatar should never be closer than a meter to the librarian, lest risk attack. Conversely, he should never be too far - further than around three meters - or risk it approaching him- a danger for the two ending up too close together. If the librarian does approach when non-agressively, players should begin to plan their steps ahead of time, adapting to any odd pathfinding librarians might have. Similar strategies can be applied to the black librarians of Metro 2033. Staring them down is very possible, though players report the rules of engagement for black librarians to be much "stricter" than those of the common librarian, as these are more hostile in nature. Constant eye-contact is a must, and movement should be pre-planned. For sleeping librarians, stealth (or sneak attacks in Last Light) is the best tactic, but if Artyom or the Stalker is wearing the heavy armor, or he has awoken them, he cannot sneak past them, and will have to fight or run. Combat If awoken or otherwise engaged, the next best tactic is to hit and run, sidestepping around a pillar or jumping onto something elevated where they cannot reach. Point-blank shots to the head from shotguns, MGR-loaded weapons, or pneumatic weapons is the best to use on these beasts - due to their very high health. In normal mode it takes about eight Helsing bolts to kill one. If the player can make at least one headshot with the Helsing the librarian is likely to drop. Consequently, both protagonists can take their adversary down with around three to five shots, depending on where the others hit. Librarians attack in a fairly slow linear pattern; therefore, taking calm, accurate, headshots with an over-pressurized Helsing can bring them down easily. A good tactic is to hit them with as many as possible and then, when they retreat, to pump or reload so when that when they come back, they will only need few shots to finish them off. It is also wise that if Artyom had a Helsing when he enters Polis, the player should have him purchase some bolts. Use military grade rounds if it becomes necessary, since after leaving Polis, there are no more shops left. Another good weapon to use in Metro 2033, if the player has the ammo for it, is the special unlock Heavy Automatic Shotgun - due to its lethal rate of fire with medium-damaging bullets. Three quarters to a full box is usually enough to kill them, as when a librarian charges it will often put its head into the crosshairs, and when combined with the barrel climb, makes the Heavy Automatic Shotgun an excellent weapon to use. Five to six consecutive headshots are sufficient in Ranger Hardcore difficulty, making it trivial to kill one's way in one side of the building and out the other. Another strategy is if Artyom is wearing the Heavy Armor and doesn't have the Heavy Automatic Shotgun, the Automatic Shotgun with a bayonet is another sound solution - pumping half of the shells into its face and then charge a bayonet stab. Arguably the best weapon, however, to take them down with in the Ranger Modes would be the Volt Driver, as in both Ranger Easy and Ranger Hardcore, it can take them down in 2 shots. This easily kills them even before they have time to attack the player, if they dont attack from the rear. Fleeing Contrary to Miller's advice, often it is easy to outrun librarians, since they can not turn corners as well as the player can due to their size, and following the player by burrow is even slower, though running in straight line is dangerous due to their sprinting speed, so try to slow it down. The librarians also have trouble following the players if they run into close quarters like stairs or catwalks (the player can use this fact to their advantage to take a break during level Archives), Artyom can also stop and shoot back from these places. However, running into a dead end or falling into a hole is disastrous, so a backup weapon is still a very good idea. In the Novel Librarians are one of the enemies Artyom actually encounters face to face in the book. They very quickly attack Artyom, Melnik, Ten and, Daniel when they enter the main hall of the library. They are described identically to their appearance in the game (however, the game model lacks the pointed ears). Black librarians, or any other variation, however, are not encountered. Librarians are depicted as quasi-sentient creatures that hunt and move in packs of two or more individuals. Also, they are intelligent enough to imitate human speech with frightening accuracy, though whether they understand what they say or not is unknown. This could suggest that Librarians were ordinary human beings before the destruction of Moscow, and that the severe irradiation of the city drastically mutated them. Later Daniel is killed by a librarian sticking its claw through his stomach from behind. Interestingly, when Daniel then talks, the librarian mimics the words, and then starts mixing them and telling Artyom to "go away" - suggesting librarians retain a high level of intelligence. Librarians are also fond of growing huge plants in the novel, again suggesting high intelligence. Unlike the game, librarians also venture outside into the Library courtyard but still they go no further than this. Related Achievements Trivia * Another notable, perhaps intelligent action performed by one was placing ammo in a hole in the wall as a trap. If Artyom attempted to grab the ammo, it would grab Artyom through the wall and attempt to kill him, but will back off if Artyom doesn't break eye contact. This can be completely avoided however by not grabbing the ammo before going to the other side of the wall. The librarian will retreat after he reaches the other side of the wall, and the player can get the ammo. ** This happens again in the Faction Pack DLC when retrieving the balalaika in the same location. Interestingly enough the exact animations from the previous game are used again for this scene. This is likely to be a throw-back for series fans. *** On another note, unlike in the previous game, this encounter can not be avoided by going to the other side of the wall. Even killing the librarian walking around the area just causes another librarian to immediantly spawn and warp to the position after triggering the encounter. * Another sign of intelligence allegedly shown by at least one librarian is the ability to read passages of text and mentally process them into speech. As they rest in the hub during Kshatriya, Bar and Su may be heard discussing rumors they apparently heard from Shaman (who they seem to consider to be a reliable source) regarding sightings of an albino librarian overheard talking to itself about overdue books and fines, words which could easily be found in pre-war documents scattered around the library it lives in. * The ape origins of the librarians is highly believable, since these creatures share their posture, attitude and intelligence with apex primates such as gorillas. The way they live, in small packs in a restricted place considered as safe, is also quite indicative. Though gorillas are restricted to Africa, the librarians may have mutated from zoo animals, since Moscow does have a zoo (Moscow's zoo, the most ancient menagerie of the country). Other creatures (mutated bears, demons and watchers) could also be derived from zoo creatures (wolves, bears, tigers, etc). Gallery Fjkhk.jpg|A dead Librarian, crushed by Ranger's Armored car Librarian Ambush.jpg|Common Librarian Librarian through hole.jpg|Librarian after ambushing Artyom LibrarianConceptArt.jpg|Librarian concept art Last Light Librarian in combat.jpg|Librarian in the Faction Pack mission Kshatriya 027 max.jpg Category:Mutants Category:Faction Pack DLC Category:Tower Pack DLC